The Perks of Being a Waterflower
by MyxShipperxHeart
Summary: The trio find themselves stranded in a storm until they wind up at a certain gym for shelter. Ash's density, Misty's lack of tolerance for it, and Brock's obsession are all to ensue. Mostly humor with AMML.


The day outside in Cerulean City turned out to be a dreary one. The three friends were traveling back from a visit to Pallet, and had just made it through Viridian City when a brutal storm savagely crossed their path.  
Rainclouds seemingly formed out of nowhere and a heavy downpour was the result. The icy wind that blew through the trees only added to the hazardous weather, sweeping up leaves and dirt along the road. But they each managed to walk amongst the muddy ground without slipping. And how they did so was a miracle, considering the fact that all three of them were nearly soaked to the bone.

"Y-you've outd-done yourself th-this time, Ash!" griped Misty as she tugged the red pullover jacket she wore closer against her shivering figure.

Ash sighed, his breath coming out in ragged, uneven puffs of air. He wasn't anymore happy about this than she was.

"It's just a little rain, Misty, and I thought you liked water!" though as if to challenge his latest statement, the giant blanket of charcoal sky above them thundered loudly. Which was soon followed by a luminous strike of lightning in addition to the pouring rain.

"You were saying?" Misty pursed her lips in utter annoyance. Her teeth were nearly chattering, and parts of her hair fell in streaks across her face.

"Uh.. actually Misty, I think it's my fault this time," countered Brock.

She blinked in mild surprise. "Your fault?"

Ash immediately grew indignant. "This time?!"

But Brock just ignored him while Misty rolled her eyes before turning back to their oldest friend. "How?"  
"Well," Brock had to raise his voice slightly in order to be heard over the roaring thunder. "The weather forecast. I wasn't paying attention to it."

Ash and Misty exchanged a look of confusion. "That doesn't sound like you," Ash remarked as he turned his head to the side, eyeing the breeder suspiciously.

"Was this when we were at that pokemon center back in Viridian?" Misty asked after a moment, raising an eyebrow.

Brock nodded.

"Was Nurse Joy in the room?"

Brock hesitated.

"Well?"

He lowered his head in shame.

Misty sighed. "Well that explains that."

"Er.. yeah, sorry about that," he replied remorsefully.

"See, you yelled at me for nothing." Ash grumbled at her.

"I hardly yelled at all!"

"Okay, okay. Let's just figure out where to go now." Brock blew a couple puffs of air into his hands and rubbed them together, failing miserably at an attempt for warmth. "And let's try to do it quickly."

That's when Pikachu poked his head out of Ash's backpack, flattening his ears as the thunder boomed once again across the sky.

"Pikapi!" he pointed forward.

"What is it, Pikachu?" questioned Ash at his sudden appearance. But the yellow rodent only leapt out of his tiny sanctuary and sprinted forward.

"Hey, wait for us!" Ash shouted as the three of them chased after him, following his prints in the mud.

Then suddenly Pikachu came to a halt, pointing a tiny yellow paw ahead of him. "Pikachupi pika!"

Ash, Misty and Brock stopped beside the little pokemon and tried to scout out as best they could to where he was pointing at. The otherwise very blunt object that would be an easy find was now partially covered by blowing foliage, making it hard to see.

But Ash was the first to notice the very familiar signpost as it came into view. ' _Misty's gym_ ,'

He then turned to Misty with a wicked grin on his face as the realization dawned on her a moment later. "No. No way, absolutely not. I'd rather drown!" she shrank back into the shadows of the trees, a look of mild panic and irritation claiming her features.

"It's just till the rain stops! Get over it and come on!" Ash gripped Misty's wrist and promptly tugged her forward. Her face immediately heated up as he did so, right as a particularly loud rumble of thunder drowned out the miscellaneous curse words she threw at him.

Brock however, was more than willing to lead the way.

And a slippery way it was at that. Broken leaves and twigs were scattered along the muddy road, making it that much harder to navigate to their destination. The trees overhead were sopping wet, the rain coming off the leaves in thick streams of water. The telephone wires swayed dangerously from their posts, and the lights from the city were nowhere to be seen.

"There it is!" Ash pointed as he spotted the giant Dewgong sign that bore the name in its bold lettering underneath.

"What are we waiting for? Let's move! My lovelies are waiting! Not much longer now, my darlings...!"

"For the love of Arceus," Misty sighed in further irritation as she stomped off in the direction of her gym. ' _I can't believe all of this fuss_.' she thought as she pounded loudly on the entrance doors upon reaching them. She still found it difficult to be in the presence of her sisters and their valley girl accents, therefore hoped she'd find a way to slip under their radar.

Then right on cue...

"Like, whoa!" Daisy threw open the marble doors.

"It's you guys!" ...followed by Lily.

"And the little Pikachu!" ...who was followed by Violet.

They then crossed over the threshold and into the candlelit gym, the place having certainly come prepared for the gloomyness that the evening had in store. Candles of all shapes and sizes littered the entire place, creating a campfire atmosphere with the air holding a very distinct scent of burning wicks. The carpet however received the brunt of dampness after the trio stepped inside, all of which went unnoticed by Brock.

"Ahh," he could barely spare a reply as he just about floated towards them, eyes nearly ablaze with pounding hearts. "My lovely, lovely dears, wouldn't you say it was a chance of fate that led me here today?"

But sadly, he was ignored.

All three girls then began pinching at Ash's cheeks, squealing at how little Misty's boyfriend had "finally grown up into the title". Ash's face immediately turned a shade of red as he looked to Brock for help. "I'm.. I'm not.. uh, heh heh.. heh.. BROCK!" he whispered harshly at his mentor friend. Misty's own cheeks flushed as she bit her tongue once she darted off to find a detour and escape her delusional sisters.

But this too, had gone unnoticed. "Marry me, all three of you! We'll live a life of luxury! Let me spoil you, anything you want is yours!"

Ash couldn't believe the lengths Brock would go to for these girls. And by the looks of the Sensational Sisters, they couldn't believe it either. But seeing as how his friend wasn't about to let up anytime soon, he figured he'd have to take matters into his own hands. And so, Ash raised a gloved hand and hopefully smacked some sense into Brock with it. "What are you doing? Get ahold of yourself!"

"YAH!" the breeder leapt back in pain, fiercely rubbing at where Ash had struck him. "What gives, man?!"

"Sorry Brock," Ash sheepishly replied, rubbing the back of his head. "But you were getting carried away. One of us had to do it, and I don't see Misty anywhere."

"Pikachupi?" Pikachu squeaked at the mention of Misty's name. But his master only shrugged.

"I thought it was strange I wasn't being dragged off.." Brock mumbled as he reached instinctively for his ear. "Speaking of which, like, where is the little runt?" Daisy spoke as she led the rest into the lounge area and flopped down in her favorite armchair, beginning to file away at her nails.

"Beats me. All I want to know is when this weather is clearing up." Violet added, flipping over a lock of hair. She took a seat beside Lily, who sat with her legs tucked beneath her on the couch.

"I'm assuming by the candles, that a heater is out of the question?" asked Misty as she filed her way back in. She had successfully changed into a pair of dry pajama bottoms and a fitted sweatshirt, with towels draped over her arms. A pair of clothing only Misty would own. The locks of her hair just now only dampened to the very ends as she shook out the rest.

"Hey, like, watch it!" Daisy shrieked, shielding herself from the droplets flying off her sister's head shaking. But Misty only smirked as she threw the towels toward Ash and Brock, who mumbled their gratitude in passing as they took a seat on the floor to avoid getting the furniture wet.

"Everything is out of the question. The stupid storm here, like, wiped it out. We got nothing." huffed Lily.

"Not exactly a flattering choice in like, fashion either, little sis." Violet added, taking in her appearance.

"Who asked you?!" Misty snapped at once, ignoring the obvious contrast that her clothes had in comparison to her sister's fancy leggings and designer top. "In case you haven't noticed, it feels like the entire city's been ice beamed," she glared. "I didn't think something like halter tops and mini skirts would exactly suffice here."

"What if we used our pokemon?" questioned Ash as he and Brock unfolded their towels.

"And maybe something dry to change into...?" Brock added. But Misty only shook her head at both boys. "We can't put our pokemon through the strenuation, we'd only tire them out. And there isn't a center within a safe distance to travel to for them to be treated properly. Plus, I have no idea how long this storm plans on lasting."

"And we haven't exactly got clothing suited for males to wear. Unless you aren't against sporting floral printed pants and tank tops, or dresses mostly." she finished with a smirk.

Ash failed to fight back a laugh at the image.

"The towel is fine, thank you." said Brock, casting a look of irritation toward his younger friend. Ash only hid his grin as he used the towel to first dry off his electric companion before attempting to dry himself.

"Well.. at least we're inside, I suppose. It's nice to have a place to stay instead of holing up somewhere out there. I can't tell you how many times we've been stranded in some forest." reasoned the breeder as he ran the towel back and forth over his hair.

"Rain or no rain."

Lily, Violet and Daisy all reached for their hair in that same moment, the thought of it affecting their outer appearance striking them all at once. Misty only heaved in a sigh at the narcissistic sight. But Brock also had a point in the same respect.

Even Ash agreed. "You're not kidding. Those pokemon centers sure came handy when I need them, too. And not just for Pikachu. Isn't that right?" he stroked the pokemon's fur with a grin.

"Pi!"

"I don't know how I'd survive some of the nights like this if it weren't for those."

"And most of it through your own doing..." Misty added in a snarky undertone.

"I heard that." Ash growled.

"Well," she pinched her features together, turning to face him. "Half the time we have to stop there in the first place is because _you_ get sidetracked and _we_ run out of time to get where we were going."

He rolled his eyes. "Not this again."

"We were on the subject already." she shrugged. "I don't know what it is with you boys and following directions anyway."

Ash scowled. "How would you like it if I pointed out all of the times _you_ messed up something for us?"

"I'd like to see you try and point out something that isn't there."

"Just watch me!"

"Are you even listening to yourself?"

"You two fight like an old married couple." Violet commented.

"WE DO NOT!" they both simultaneously exclaimed.

"Knock it off, you guys." Brock interjected from a side glance. "Let's just all agree to be glad we have a roof for the moment, alright?"

The pair fell silent, and he took that as their cooperation. And he was grateful when sometimes that's all it took; a simple request for them to cool it. But he was sure he detected a slight redness to both of their cheeks if he wasn't mistaken.

He smirked.

"You know," Lily chimed in teasingly a moment later. " _I_ have a story about Misty."

Misty snapped back to attention, and all the color drained from her porcelain face. This was absolutely the very last thing she needed on top of everything else. But Lily just watched her with some kind of leisurely confidence that didn't sit well at all for the female, and it took every ounce of willpower Misty possessed not to launch herself across the room and duct tape her mouth shut. There was no telling where her sister was about to go with this.

"HA! Finally!" Ash exclaimed in contrast, stirring a whole new sense of panic within the redhead. He rubbed his hands together and leaned forward with interest to explore this piece of news, while Brock glanced anxiously from one to the other. This one was out of his hands.

"Well, it was back when she was still too small to reach the sink." she started, facing the boys.

Misty's eyebrow twitched. "Lily, don't you dare."

The pink haired female sat up a little straighter, paying no attention. "We still have the step stool she needed to use for it."

"Lily..."

"And all of us walked in to find her standing on it, spraying water everywhere with one of those sink hoses to literally make it rain." she finished with a reflective grin of taunting amusement. "She was soaking wet by the time we got to her. And so was everything else, unfortunately."

"LILY!"

Ash fell to the floor, consumed with laughter while a frightened Pikachu leapt out of the way to avoid being squashed. Brock only expressed a genuine grin of the tale told from the younger female's past, and Misty was two seconds away from throttling the other boy. That's just what she needed; her sister, of all people, telling stories that didn't need to be told to the last person who should hear it.

"It's not funny!"

"She thought that thing would evolve her stuffed Staryu, and then she threatened us with it when we tried to take it from her." Lily replied, who began rolling her fingertips over her temples. "I'll never forget the mess _that_ made."

The redhead grit her teeth while Ash sat back up, wiping at his eyes. "That does sound like you, Misty."

"Oh yeah? Well _she_ nearly burnt down the kitchen once." Misty jerked a defensive thumb in Lily's direction, who went wide eyed in response. Two could play this game.

"I seem to recall that _someone_ neglected the stove when it should've been tended to, and _someone_ had to call out _her_ Seel to put out the fire that _she_ started."

Her sister's face instantly heated up while the other two females shared a confirmative nod among their giggling. Even they knew what she was talking about. And they should, considering how much chaos erupted from the incident which paled in comparison to her story.

"You, like, remember that?" Lily mumbled.

"You bet I do!" Misty kept an unrelenting eye lock on her sister while the balance of power momentarily tipped in her favor, and crossed her arms matter-of-factly.

"It's not everyday the Cerulean City fire department almost breaks down your door."

Violet scoffed at this. "She didn't even like, need to call them. She only did that cause she thought the firemen were-"

The rest of her words was cut off from Lily's hand flying over her sister's mouth, who laughed nervously while Violet struggled to escape. Daisy was the only one to roll her eyes at that moment while Misty straightened her back in a rare instance of satisfaction. It wasn't often that she had anything to say that her sisters didn't have a decent response to, and she couldn't help but relish the infrequent experience.

And then there was Ash, who sat there scratching his head.

"I don't get it."

Brock however just gazed longingly at the three females in his usual dazed infatuation and raised a hand to his chest. "The fire of love I have in my heart for you three could never be put out."

The room echoed as Misty face palmed herself.

Daisy opened her mouth to speak, but instead stared at Ash and Brock for a few moments before giving her head a small shake. That's when Violet finally broke free of Lily's grasp and started combing her dark blue locks back into place.

"All I know is that rain of any kind would like, totally ruin my hair. Especially if it came from outside." she remarked from the condition that still remained outdoors.

"Well, I don't know," Daisy fixed her gaze over to Ash and Misty and smirked, folding her arms. "I would probably change my mind if _I_ had someone to follow around every-"

And _that's_ when Misty suddenly started coughing out of nowhere to sever her sister's sentence, turning a fresh shade of crimson. All eyes were on her as she cleared her throat from nothing short of embarrassment. That was enough mention of Ash and entertainment at her expense for one night.

"Daisy," she changed the subject to prevent it from getting anymore dire. "Go get some blankets or something."

"Yeah, yeah." her sister replied as she rose from her seat before disappearing down the hallway.

Since then Lily and Violet both argued over who got the armchair, and Brock looked as if all his dreams had come true as he hoped to witness the girls' argument break out into a full on catfight. But it wasn't enough to disrupt the mouse pokemon, who was now curled up and nearly asleep by the couch. And all the while Ash just altered his gaze to the window outside, watching as the water from the fiercely fallen rain dripped violently down the glass. He remained still and quiet, pausing only to remove his hat and run a gloved hand through his hair. It currently hung low around his face due to the dampness he was unable to shake off, the tips just barely reaching his shoulders.

Misty's cheeks were still burning as she sneaked a peek at his sudden pensive expression, unable to quell her budding attraction toward the raven haired boy. Despite the miserable forecast outside, the candles were able to create a magnificent glow over his tan skin. It was a sight she hardly had the chance to freely behold. The rare opportunity to absorb his expression without getting caught or questioned for it, especially in the presence of her sisters. And it was moments like these that really captured her attention. Not when he was being a stubborn hothead and full of pride, but when he fell silent and his natural demeanor seemed to open up doors that Misty was positive she'd cemented shut.

Suddenly, he turned to her. "Do you think we could order in?"

And then there were moments she felt like a deflated balloon. So much for that door theory.

But all Misty could do was swat him over the head for ruining her insight. "You idiot!"

"Ow, Misty! Sheesh!" he doubled back in pain. "What did I do?!"

But his question fell on deaf ears as Misty only averted her eyes elsewhere with a mumbled "Hmph!"

"In this weather? Are you kidding? Everything electrical is dead, Ash. This includes phones. And I don't think anyone in their right mind would want to walk in that anyway." supplied Brock as he nudged his head back to indicate the outdoors, who by now hadn't been fazed in the slightest by Misty's outbursts.

But the redhead only huffed in indignation. ' _Stupid romance movies_ ,' she thought to herself as she folded her arms. ' _All those rainy romantic scenes where it's just the boy and the girl. Stupid movies. Stupid everything. Should have known nothing was going through that empty space he has for a head_.'

Ash eyed Misty like she'd lost her mind. ' _Women_ ,' he thought in exasperation, rubbing absentmindedly at where she smacked him. Brock only chuckled at the exchange between the two.

"Found them!" Daisy appeared back in the room, multiple blankets dangling from her arms.  
"Finally!" Violet and Lily exclaimed in unison. Daisy only smirked. "You're welcome," she replied as she threw a blanket to everyone before collapsing back into the chair.

They swiftly tugged each blanket around themselves, shivering. "I'm guessing we don't have anything heavier?" asked Misty as she sank deeper into the confines of her blanket.

"I'd have brought them out if we did. And like, I don't think the storm will be stopping anytime soon. Just listen."

All six teens stopped and tilted their gaze to the ceiling. The rain was indeed pounding on the roof as if it was trying to invade their place of refuge, and the wind was ripping so hard that they were astonished none of the windows broke. Misty bit her lip as the agonizing possibility of spending the night crossed her mind.

"You know," Brock broke the silence, an air of smugness suddenly filling the room. "Another way to keep warm would be body heat."

Ash's eyes nearly bugged out of his head and Misty just wanted to disappear at his words.

"Well.. there _are_ six of us," Violet commented after an uncomfortable moment.

"You counted?" asked Daisy. Then Misty mumbled something about being unaware that she even _could_ count.

"Think about it," Brock began to reason, putting on his most authoritative tone. "Everything else is out for the night. We can kind of only rely on eachother here. Just an idea." he finished, throwing the three sisters a flirtatious smile.

"He never knows when to stop, does he?" Ash leaned over and mumbled to Misty, who slowly shook her head.

"Uh..." Lily leaned backward.

"He could be right-" Daisy added. But no sooner were the words out of her mouth was she shoved by Violet and Lily and straight into Brock, who looked positively overcome with elation. But Daisy quickly leaned away and held up a finger. "Like chill out, Romeo. Watch those hands or you won't have any." she said, squinting her eyes at him.

Misty raised her own hand to her mouth to conceal her chuckling. Ash however, wasn't as generous.

"I wouldn't dream of it, my precious princess," Brock kissed her hand, sighing in the utmost contentment. "And no more weird phrases from you!" Daisy demanded. Violet and Lily, alongside Ash, were both too preoccupied with laughter at this point, neither one bothering to hide it.

"Your sister sure is snappy," Ash whispered a moment later. "That must be where you get it." he grinned.

Misty narrowed her eyes at him. "Watch it, Ketchum. Or you just might lose a body part too."

Ash quickly closed his mouth and Misty grinned a satisfied smile to herself. But then her eyes shifted from the awkward pairing of Daisy and Brock, to Violet and Lily.

"Guess that leaves you and me," Lily commented, confirming her suspicions. She and Violet both huddled together on the couch, now watching in amusement as Daisy began to turn down a ridiculous proposal from Brock.

Misty's cheeks immediately deepened in color as to what this implied, not daring so much as to spare a glance toward Ash. Who unbeknownst to her, had equally matched her face in hue.

What they also didn't notice was that Lily and Violet both noticed this as well. Each nudged eachother with a knowing grin before returning their attention back to the hilarious scenario of Brock and their poor sister. He had her hand clasped between both of his, who had a heck of a time trying to kneel while they both remained seated at the same eye level. Daisy only responded with angry huffs and eyerolls while attempting to ward him off at arm's length.

But all distractions was lost to Misty by that point. However, she was initially grateful that Ash hadn't seemed entirely revolted at the prospect of sharing body warmth with her. Though she couldn't very well just sidle over to him and not expect something unpleasant to roll out of his mouth at the same time. Especially since her outburst from earlier. On the contrary, he hardly reacted at all. But Misty wasn't sure if this was a chance she could exactly take. And for her to voice her thoughts was just out of the question. What to do, what to do...

A fresh wave of goosebumps rose over her skin as if to challenge her latest debate, and she huddled her legs close to her chest. It was then Misty chose to swallow her fear and direct a hesitant glance toward the boy in question, and found herself stunned to find his eyes trained on her own. Her stomach instantly knotted while she waited for the light to turn on in his head, which led her to force away the thought that she might be there awhile.

But Ash visibly swallowed and abruptly halted these ideas. And much to her confusion and astonishment -and rapidly reddening face- he actually opened his mouth as if he were about to speak. Had Misty been sitting in an actual chair at the moment, she'd be right on the edge of it with anticipation. It was to where she feared the blood rushing through her ears might drown out whatever he was about to say.

And _that's_ when the lights flickered back on.

Ash zapped from his trance-like stupor as he shook himself and blinked upwards, while Misty experienced the feeling of deflation a second time that night. All the air was drained from her chest while she mentally cursed the timing for the electricity's return. Meanwhile, Daisy sprung away so quickly from Brock that she nearly tripped in the process. The other two squinted slightly against the lighting and stumbled to their own feet, but not before taking in the sight of Misty's current situation with Ash.

Violet glanced at Lily, who wore the same sneaky expression as the other one. Her sisters may not have been the sharpest tools in the shed, but they also weren't born yesterday. They could only think of one way to handle this. And so the two traded a mischievous smirk of sorts as they came to the same hair-brained conclusion, and "accidentally" bumped into their unsuspecting younger sister.

Obvious, maybe. But also effective by the way they both flailed over.

Ash was now on his back, staring up at Misty in shock. He was so caught off guard that any pain from the impact was lost on him. Misty herself was hovered above him for the briefest of moments, their mouths only centimeters apart. Both of her arms now resided on either side of his head so that she hadn't flattened him completely. Each of them flushed a heavy shade of red as it left a spacious view of one to the other. Ash was speechless as he stared up at her with a wide pair of eyes, while she could only assume that she mirrored the same image. Even the ends of her red hair were dangling on either side of his face. Both were deaf to everything aside from the scuffle of Daisy and the breeder somewhere in the background.

But sadly, it didn't last long before the two of them had sprung up and away from eachother.

The trainer was left flustered and silent above all else while he kept his head down, hopelessly trying to gather his wits. And Misty being Misty, couldn't let that slide without bellowing out furious hollers for her sisters to 'watch where they were going'. Even if deep inside, she knew good and well that was completely done on purpose and why. Especially when she caught the low key high five they traded behind their backs. But she didn't allow the internal joy to surface, as she was much too used to disguising her true feelings with anger. This moment would just be something for her to store away and reflect on later like everything else. That's what it took to keep anything she wanted to stay hidden from everyone, and she had her secretly keen eyed sisters to thank for what she couldn't freely express. Misty had to give them credit; for being as oblivious as she usually perceives them to be, she had to admit they can be pretty observant.

Maybe they weren't so bad after all.


End file.
